


Small Misunderstandings

by Minatu



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-22
Updated: 2014-11-22
Packaged: 2018-02-26 14:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2654810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minatu/pseuds/Minatu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nitori always fell in love easily, and it was like tripping.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Small Misunderstandings

**Author's Note:**

> I finally wrote another fic for the OTP.

Nitori always fell in love easily, and it was like tripping. He would grow acquainted with someone, and then it would start. These  _detestable_ feelings. He knew better than to let his emotions ruin a friendship. It had happened before, and he had always kept it hidden and dealt with it silently. Even though sometimes it really hurt and he felt so  _lonely_. There was no other alternative for Nitori. He knew Rin didn't swing that way. In fact, he knew for sure that, at the  _very_ least, Rin did not feel that way about Nitori. If anything Rin was more likely to have a crush on someone from Iwatobi than Samezuka... and Nitori lived with that broken heart, with the sometimes pointed pain that stabbed into his heart when Rin had that particular smile that he only shared with Nanase... or that complex relationship that he had with Ryuugazaki.

The next year came along, and he was no longer sharing a dorm with Rin. It was easier for a while. Nitori started to feel better, a little less lonely. Then he tripped. And he fell harder than ever before. When he hit the ground, it was like breaking his nose. Nitori couldn't believe he had done it again. He had fallen head over heels for Yamazaki... who obviously only really had eyes for Rin, his best friend. It hurt because Yamazaki was nice to Nitori from the get-go. Sure, he had his "harsh truth" moments, but even those were nice because he was helping Nitori in his own way.

Being trained by Yamazaki was probably the most bittersweet moment of all. Nitori was so happy to be receiving his help and advice, especially because it made them closer.

When Nitori found out about Sousuke's shoulder, he almost cried. It seemed too cruel. However, Nitori felt like he wasn't someone who was allowed to cry for Sousuke because no matter how close they were, it didn't change the fact that it was only Rin who would be allowed that luxury. Sousuke's best friend... Nitori was not that important, and that fact ate away at him. He wanted, more than anything else, to be important to Sousuke, but he didn't know how to do this.

It was their last week of school before they moved to the next school year, and Sousuke was going to be gone soon... Nitori gathered all of his confidence before stopping Sousuke once in private to tell him the truth. To tell Sousuke his feelings because it felt like they were never going away. That Sousuke was one of those crushes that were forever imprinted on his heart. It was completely different from Rin.

"You like me?" was Sousuke's wary response, and Nitori could no longer look at his senpai. The silence was penetrating, and it felt like Nitori was shattering, slowly...  _slowly_. Who knew it would hurt this bad?

"Y-yes... I'm sorry," Nitori responded softly, wringing his hands and staring at them like they had the meaning of life written on them.

"Why are you sorry? It's okay to like someone," Sousuke responded awkwardly, pulling on the hairs at the nape of his neck. Nitori looked up at Sousuke, astonished, a blush coloring his cheeks.

"B-but I'm a guy..." Nitori protested, despite himself.

"That shouldn't make a difference. At least, it doesn't to me," Sousuke replied lackadaisically. Nitori continued to gaze at Sousuke in dumbstruck awe. Sousuke blushed in surprise, looking away, "Th-that doesn't mean I'll date you... but I'll consider it." Nitori turned bright red.

"Re-really?" he asked, a little astounded by all of this. He really hadn't expected Sousuke to respond this well at all. In fact, he expected disgust or even hatred. It wouldn't be the first time... Nitori knew Sousuke tended to maintain an air of nonchalance...  _but._

"Yeah," Sousuke assured Nitori and ruffled his hair a bit. He stared at Sousuke wordlessly for a long moment before grinning with a terribly pink blush.

"Thank you!"

* * *

 

Sousuke considered it very seriously. He liked Nitori plenty, in fact, he felt a bit of romantic attraction toward Nitori because the little guy was just pleasant to be around. He could get used to that. However, Sousuke wasn't sure if the vague amount of attraction he felt would really be good enough. Would he be able to actually fully devote himself to the relationship? Because, honestly, Sousuke had never even been in one before, and from the looks of it, neither had Nitori. Sousuke had always been too focused on swimming to ever have a girlfriend. In fact, his head had always been full of Rin. In a platonic way, but it was probably more obsessive then he would ever admit.

"Hey, Rin," Sousuke said, leaning over the bars of his bunk toward where Rin was standing below.

"What?" Rin looked a little tired.

"If you're not really attracted to someone, can you still date them?" Sousuke asked. Rin looked at Sousuke like he had asked a dumb question.

"Yeah, but that isn't really that nice to the other person. 'Cause, what if you never develop feelings for them?" Rin pointed out, then after a moment he added, " _Baka_." Sousuke laid back in his bed, staring at the ceiling until Rin turned out the lights. Then Sousuke just stared long and hard into the darkness.

In the end, Sousuke decided to try going on a few dates with Nitori, but with the established knowledge that he was not accepting Nitori's feelings just yet.

* * *

 

The dates ended up going quite well, considering. Now Sousuke could barely take his eyes off of Nitori, even growing angry when someone was too close to Nitori or if they  _dared_ to touch Nitori... and it was a little too much for Sousuke, and he ended up pulling away from Nitori.

"SOUSUKE! YOU MADE AI CRY! WHAT THE HELL?" Rin yelled as he burst into their shared room. Sousuke rolled over to stare at Rin through the side railing.

"I did?" he asked softly. Rin frowned. He was angry and confused all at once, and he had no idea what to do really.

"Yes. You did, you big idiot," Rin snapped at Sousuke, "Now would you tell me what happened between you two because Nitori could barely get out two words." Sousuke frowned slightly.

"I started feeling feelings?" he answered after a moment. Rin's eye twitched.

"Are you an idiot?" he asked, gritting his teeth at the end of his question in attempt to hold back his desire to punch Sousuke all the way to the sun.

"...probably," Sousuke replied, sitting up. Rin started to raise his fist, and it was trembling. He still didn't really know what was happening and one of his friends was hurting another and-  _oh_. 

Sousuke hopped down from his bunk and left faster than Rin had seen him do in a while. Sousuke knocked on Nitori's door. He could faintly hear hiccups and Momotarou's voice. Then door opened, and Momotarou was still running his mouth, but when he saw Sousuke he just sort of stopped.

He frowned slightly, "He's all yours now." Then Momotarou left at the speed of light, probably gearing for wherever Rin was to bother the hell out of him. Sousuke stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Wh-who was it?" Nitori sniffled, wiping at his eyes still. Sousuke knelt in front of Nitori, pulling his hands away from his face.

"Me," Sousuke answered softly as Nitori stared at Sousuke with his mouth hanging wide open in shock.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" he asked with an attempted bite to his voice. Sousuke sighed.

"To set you straight," he replied after a pause. Nitori looked at Sousuke in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he sniffled again. It sounded like it was a little difficult for him to breathe.

"I don't _not_ like you," Sousuke responded simply. Nitori's eyes widened.

"Really?" he inquired warily.

"Yes," Sousuke answered, a small smile on his face. Nitori grinned at him.

"I'm glad, but you still have to make it up to me for making me cry," Nitori told Sousuke strictly. Sousuke tried to hold back a smile, so it looked almost like a frown. 

"I'll hold you to that," he replied.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and Thoughts are forever appreciated. And often replied to.


End file.
